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Best Catholic Lent Apps for 2024

Jennifer Kane

The 40 days of Lent are set aside to give yourself a chance to let God love you. Don’t let another Lent pass you by without taking advantage of exceptional digital aids out there to help deepen your relationship with the Lord. We only choose intelligent, Gospel-based Catholic apps designed to bring you closer to God. Browse this year’s selection of the best Lent apps out there.  And remember, we are a world-wide community of Catholic app users, so let us know about your great finds!  Here are our recommended Lent apps for 2024:

First, set up your device for Lent

Before you download a Lent app, how about setting your phone or tablet to have Lenten practices and devotions intrude on your day? You can do this in your calendar by setting alarms for daily prayers and alerts for fast/abstinence on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday and abstinence from meat on Fridays. Set your wake-up alarm to spiritual music. Set notifications/alarms for your parish’s penance service or confession times (check out our Confession apps ). Eucharistic adoration time could also be plugged into your calendar with alerts. Make sure you have a Bible app to daily keep in touch with the Word of God. Commit to praying your rosary daily. So, you may not need a specific app for Lent if you engage in such devotional/sacramental practices on your own. But the apps listed below are some of the best we’ve found to further enrich the experience of your journey towards Easter and a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ.

Discipulus App

Discipulus App (21-day free trial before subscription $6.99/month or $49.99/year) Apple | Android

Being a disciple of Christ is not about being a member of a club. It’s about your relationship with the Holy Trinity–Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The developers of Discipulus App want to help you nurture that relationship by forming habits to live a spiritually disciplined life. That life will help you grow closer in your relationship to God. If you are yearning to take your spiritual life to a deeper level this Lenten season, here’s your opportunity to plug into a program designed to methodically guide you through the journey– a journey firmly planted in the Catholic spiritual tradition and based on research in how to form good habits. While spiritual growth can be hard to measure, developers of Discipulus say that tracking habits that lead to spiritual growth shouldn’t be. So this app is designed to help you track good habits. These habits are the habits we see in the saints. And the more we habituate the four key areas of discipleship– prayer, faith formation, virtue and mission– the closer we grow in our relationship to God.

Dicipulus offers ideas of what you can do along with a built-in program of accountability which tracks your progress in building good spiritual habits.

Sure there are amazing prayer apps out there and even wonderful faith formation and meditation apps you can use. But prayer alone is not enough. Faith formation is not enough. According to developers of Discipulus, you need to cultivate all four disciplines of discipleship: prayer, study, mission and virtue in a supportive environment. Tracking your incremental progress across all four spiritual disciplines will shape your habits which direct your destiny, says Phil Dolci, co-developer of Discipulus app.

Transform from a person who says prayers to a person of prayer; a person who studies the faith to a faith-filled person; a person who reads about God to a person who knows God; a person who sometimes does a virtuous act to a virtuous person; an occasional donor to a good cause to a regular hands-on servant to others. Whether you are a beginner in your faith journey, moderately acquainted with Jesus or a well-seasoned practicer of the faith, this app offers the specific tasks you need to do to–small decisions you make–to incrementally build good habits that cannot help but increase your spiritual progress and change your life…permanently. These are the habits of the saints that led them to love God deeply in their souls and transform that love into action.

     

Truth and Life Audio Bible with 40-Day Reading Plan

An essential component of your spiritual journey is engaging the Word of God. How about making a commitment to reading the entire New Testament or all four Gospels during Lent? You can EASILY do that with…

Truth & Life Dramatized audio Bible New Testament (Free text with in-app purchase to unlock all the audio; Gospel of Mark audio free) RSV-Catholic Edition translation  Apple | GooglePlay | |Kindle Fire | Online web.

Imagine a reading plan that will serve the text to you on your mobile device AND read it to you! This is not your ordinary audio book. We’re talking a world-class production of the Bible read by more than 70 actors (many celebrities) with movie studio sound effects and an original music score! On a long road trip? Stuck in traffic? Fire up this app and enjoy having the Gospels read to you while you listen to the oars of Peter’s boat slapping the water on the Sea of Galilee or the crowds gasp in amazement on witnessing a miracle from Jesus. You’ll enjoy the original background music that dramatically enhances the readings.

From Developers: “More than 70 actors help bring the scriptures to life in this 22-hour audio production, complete with this award-winning audio New Testament … endorsed with an Imprimatur from the Vatican and including a foreword by Pope Benedict XVI.” The 40-Day reading plans for Lent cover your choice of the New Testament or just the Gospels. As an added bonus, you get the audio version of the Gospel of Mark with this free version with the ability to upgrade (a mere $20) to the full New Testament audio at any time. So, while the full text of the Bible is free, the audio New Testament is not, with the exception of the Gospel of Mark. The quality of the audio is well worth the price as you’ll experience hearing Mark’s Gospel. Our preferred way to get this Bible app is to go through the free EWTN app. This Catholic multi-media app provides a seamless portal to the Truth and Life Audio Bible while at the same time offering you all their great programing which you should have anyway. Individual audio books of the New Testament are $1.99 ea; the complete new Testament is $19.99 and the entire package audio and study bible is 29.99. In addition to exhilarating audio, the app features:

  • Complete text of RSV-CE synchronized with audio [text highlights move with the audio reading- very cool]
  • Go directly to any verse and hear and see the Bible text instantly [very cool!]
  • Use the built in playlist [built-in reading plan] to hear/read the New Testament in 40 days or in Chronological order
  • Search verses
  • Create your own playlist of verses [who else provides that?]
  • Remembers where you left off with bookmark.
  • Easily fit entire 22 hours of audio on your device.
  • Ability to highlight text and take notes
  • Maps of the Holy Land during various Biblical times
  • Spanish text version of the Bible is NOW offered (La biblia de Straubinger, considered the primer Catholic Bible in Spanish)
    

Amen App

Amen App (Free) Apple | Android  by Augustine Institute Here’s an app that invites you to fall asleep while you pray–no kidding. Amen App joins Hallow in this category of apps based in a soothing meditative experience in prayer, complete with a variety of sleep aids designed to calm your mind and body. Developed by the Augustine Institute, Amen App is based primarily in audio format, so you can pray/meditate with your eyes closed. This includes audio meditations and bedtime stories read to you in a soothing delivery by a trained voice actor on a variety of topics with a selection of background music or sound effect options. Lent resources include prayers, meditations, Gospel reflections and devotions centered on the season. Children can be included in Lenten reflections with the popular Brother Francis cartoon character who explains aspects of the season and offers something to think about each day of Lent. The Augustine Institute has been a distinguished leader in producing/publishing faithful Catholic catechetical materials in a variety of media formats for a number of years. Now, the Institute offers an app that utilizes much of its content, but centered around one specific theme: To help you encounter God through meditative prayer from the time you wake up to the time you go to sleep. Led by Dr. Timothy Gray, their impressive catalogue of resources unlocks for public consumption the rich array of Catholic thought and spirituality to help fuel the New Evangelization led by laity.

You might be familiar with the Institute’s Lighthouse Catholic Media rack in the back of your church, or their amazing internet-based resource portal, Formed–which gathers together the best of Catholic entertainment, formation resources, educational series and more. Amen App also comes packed with other valuable Catholic audio/text resources to help inspire “your daily conversation with God through faithful Christian meditation, nourishing Scriptures and relaxing sleep sounds,” according to developers. Among resources, you get audio/text versions of:

Options include the ability to download resources for use offline and Spanish language. Check out Amen App’s video tutorial to discover all this beautiful app offers:    

Hallow

Hallow Free download with access to a bunch of exquisite content. Get a 90-day free trial (offer extended for Lent!) with access to full content before you subscribe–monthly $8.99; annually $59.99 Apple | GooglePlay

When is the last time you learned a new way of praying? Lent is a good time to turn to prayer with intention. This serene, guided meditation app is all about you and your soul entering a blissful, meditative audio environment to help you pray. The goal? To slide you into a meaningful dialogue with God so you can nurture your relationship with him. The enormous catalog of content (prayer, meditations, scripture, reflections, bedtime Bible stories, etc.), utilizes peaceful, calming audio to stir your soul–from the velvety voices reading to you, to the soothing music/sounds in a variety of genres. Step by step, you will be led into prayerful meditation like you may never have experienced in your life.

For Lent, the Hallow app offers its #Pray40 Challenge, a daily spiritual journey. This year, you will be guided through the spiritual classic, He Leadeth Me, by Fr. Walter Ciszek. Mark Wahlberg, Jonathan Roumie (who portrays Jesus in The Chosen television series),  and others narrate as you pray and meditate along with millions around the world who join in the session every day of Lent.

Catholic influencer, Fr. Mike Schmitz, said He Leadeth Me is probably the most influential book he has read in the past 20 years and perhaps his life. “It will change the way you look at God. It will change the way you look at your own life. It will change the way you pray,” he said. Fr. Ciszek was a Jesuit priest and missionary who was imprisoned for more than 20 years in the Soviet Union– first in solitary confinement and then in a Siberian worker camp under brutal conditions. As Hallow developers explain: “Fr. Walter underwent a profound spiritual journey. In fear, he found hope. In confinement, he surrendered his life to God. Together with He Leadeth Me and more powerful testimonies of surrender, you’ll experience a new kind of humility and hope in Christ, who laid down His life for you, in the 40 days leading up to Easter.” With the free 90-day trial you get the benefit of accessing this daily series during Lent AND work on cultivating a habit of daily prayer over that time period.

Hallow’s Lent retreat features Mark Wahlberg, Jonathan Roumie, Fr. Mike Schmitz, Sr. Miriam James, S.O.L.T., Sr. Mary Bernice (Missionary of Charity who served alongside Saint Mother Teresa), Tammy Peterson, Jim Wahlberg and Fr. Frankie Cicero.

On the free side of this app you get meditations on the Daily Gospel (updated every day), audio Rosary, Lent praylist, Spiritual Communion, Chaplet of Divine Mercy, Examen (examination of conscience), Spiritual Writing, and Christian Meditation sessions. Each of these offerings comes with a choice of two voices as your guide, three length options, nine background music selections, a journal, prayer reminder options, goal setting and tracking. You also have access to all of the Guest Sessions, and Minute Meditation sessions. The free side also generously includes the Bible in a Year with Fr. Mike Schmitz.

To unlock the full version of this app to access all its content, you must subscribe (monthly $8.99; annually $59.99). Before you squawk at the price (which I sure did at first!), please consider what you pay for streaming media subscriptions. Content in THIS app can help save your soul (Can you say that about Hulu or Netflix?) because it’s focused on one thing: to help get you in a mindset to talk to God. That relationship is the most important relationship in your life. And if you are a nominal Catholic routinely going through the motions of your faith, begrudgingly going to Sunday Mass when prodded or not giving God much thought, it’s time to grow up, spiritually speaking. Let’s be honest. Hallow is so jam-packed with content (packaged in tasteful, minimalist design), it takes eight full minutes to run through everything this amazing app offers (complete with celebrities), as this video demonstrates:

English and Spanish (limited). Developed by a University of Notre Dame alumnus and guided by experts in the Catholic Church, (including his bishop!), Hallow relies on the riches of the Catholic Church’s ancient teachings on prayer and meditation/contemplation.

Pray as You Go – Lent Retreat 2024

Make a digital retreat for Lent with Pray as You Go (Free) Apple | Android. Enjoy beautifully-produced audio retreats brought to you by Jesuit Media Initiatives out of Britain. This app invites you to spend about about 11 minutes per day (not just during Lent, but all year long!) in a systematic method of prayer which you follow in an audio format; they call this form of exercise “imaginative contemplation” as you are taken on a guided mental cruise of spiritual discovery and wonder and challenge with music, Scripture and questions for reflection. Specific retreats, like their Lent retreat, are a separate offering from their regular daily retreats. They are uploaded one per week during Lent. You will not be able to access reflections ahead of time. They are only available on the date of release for the week.

The Lent retreat theme this year is titled: The Cry From The Cross. It is a continuation of their Advent retreat theme, The Cry From the Manger. Gemma Simmonds CJ, who wrote the Advent retreat, continues with the theme for Lent, guiding listeners from how God speaks to us from the manger to how God speaks to us from the cross. The retreat will begin on Wednesday, February 14th, with all other following sessions released weekly on Mondays throughout Lent.

Pray as You Go is a valuable addition to your mobile device as a daily retreat you can engage all year long. In the regular section of Pray as You Go, a new prayer session is produced for each day of the week and one for weekends with material written by a number of Jesuits and other experts in the spirituality of St Ignatius of Loyola, according to developers. Although the content is different every day, it keeps to the same basic format of gently weaving together music, a passage of scripture and a few questions for personal reflection in a each prayer session. Developers say the framework of prayer allows you to:

  • become more aware of God’s presence in your life
  • listen to and reflect on God’s word
  • grow in your relationship with God

You will appreciate the ability to set the time you’d like reminder notifications to pray. The wide variety of music in this app is a significant feature, as this app review noted. Music is used as a conduit to help with your meditation. You WILL enjoy some pieces so much you will want them for you collection. No problem. Go to Pray as You Go’s web site to purchase/ download any of the music you discover on the app.

Passion of Jesus

Meditation on the Passion of our Lord is a particular devotion during the season of Lent. If you have never tried this app, do it this year. The Passion of Jesus app Apple ($1.39)| (Apple Watch)  is designed to help you develop a tender daily devotion to Jesus Christ and his passion by engaging you–in real time–in the last 24 hours of Christ’s life. The events are put in sequence as found in Scripture and Sacred Tradition. Based on your local time, you are served a respective passion image, a corresponding reflection (based on the collective writings of Saint Alphonsus de Ligouri), response and suggested prayer intentions. This passion timeline enfolds over a 24 hour period, but you can change this to other timelines to accommodate your schedule– 8 hours, 1 hour and 30 minutes.  Its developers note: “The primary goal of this reflection is to engage believers to ponder and reflect on each aspect of the Passion by allowing time and eternity to intersect, by allowing the power of the cross to pour into our daily lives, no matter where we are or what we are doing….for a few moments, to pause and cast a glance at our Lord and permit this awesome, life-changing reality to bear fruit, to illumine, to set free & to save.” If you only engage this app on Good Friday, you will be in for a powerful experience, no matter where you are during the course of that day! Also included with this app are:

  • Way of the Cross by St. Alphonsus Liguori
  • Way of the Cross through Mary’s eyes
Take a look at how the app works.

Magnificat Lenten Companion 2024

Magnificat Lenten Companion 2024  Apple ($2.99) Android ($2.99) A Companion to the popular Magnificat series specifically targeting the Forty Days of Lent (from Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday). This popular devotional is available in print or online editions via subscription or through their app which is designed in a convenient, easy-to-use format. In addition to the app version of the booklet, the e-book version is available for: Kindle, ($2.99) Nook, ($2.99) Kobo ($2.99) Apple Books ($2.99)

You get: daily liturgy (Mass readings) [Liturgical source: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops & ICEL], Stations of the Cross, meditations, penance service, devotional prayers and much more. We at Catholic Apptitude are proponents of bringing your mobile device into church to use as your Missal because it is a terrific aid in being present at liturgy. This may be a good time to start because this app or e-book version is at your fingertips. Of course the convenience of having this resource is valuable for down times like waiting for your children at team practice or quiet times when you just want to steal a few minutes to meditate. Appreciated are the alerts you can set for Evening Prayer, for example.

 

Exodus

Free 14-day trial when you sign up for subscription ($10/month or $90/year) Who will you become by Easter? That’s Exodus app’s question for men, specifically (but of course women can give this a go as well). Are you a man who yearns to leave his boyhood behind so you don’t live in a state of perpetual adolescence? That is a big aim of Exodus App for men looking to take their spiritual life to boot camp, according to the app’s founder/director, James Baxter. If that’s what you’re looking for, and you’d like to take a hard-core approach to seriously tackle your spiritual growth between now and Easter (or any 40-day period you choose), time to MAN UP. Here’s your program. This new version (which typically is 90 days) has been trimmed to follow the 40-day period of Lent.  Exodus (Free with in-app purchase) Apple| Android is an intense make-my-daily-routine-uncomfortable initiative that emphasizes traditional forms of mortification like various forms of abstinence, physical discomfort, prayer and meditation to get you to break bad habits and form new ones that lead to FREEDOM in Jesus Christ. It is ideal to hitch onto Lent. A U.S. Catholic bishop has encouraged men to “embrace the sacrificial spirit” of Exodus and join him in following the app’s program. Most Rev. Joseph Strickland, Bishop of Tyler, Texas, who started the program himself in 2020, has Tweeted that even if you can’t go all in on the daily practices (no sweets, no alcohol, added prayer time, regular exercise, fasting/abstinence twice a week, cold showers, fast from technology, reading Scripture regularly, etc.) “at least try to adopt some of these practices.”

The app is free with additional monthly purchase to continue the program– $10 each month totaling $30. Radical transformation requires radical effort. Effects of the intense Exodus program can result in a closer relationship with Christ, appreciation of silence in body and mind, a re-orientation in how you spend your valuable time, a sense of renewed “sonship” with God, healthier body, and stronger relationships. All this, according to developers, adds up to regaining freedom, and the source of that freedom is Jesus Christ. Indeed, developers note that this program can be useful in breaking certain addictions like pornography and too much time with digital technology. If you feel you may be up for this type of intense spiritual workout, check out the in-depth conversation about this app with its developer on Taylor Marshall’s podcast via YouTube. Marshall has gone through the program twice and along with Baxter, they cover the program rather thoroughly. The download links below take you to the app’s sign-up portal before you go to the actual download so you can start with the free trial.

  

FORMED– ($9.99/month personal subscription or Free if your parish subscribes) Apple | GooglePlay

Billed as “the Netflix of Catholic media content,” Formed is an exceptional Catholic faith formation tool–bundling into one platform trusted and popular Catholic videos, audio talks, eBooks and movies all at your fingertips on-demand. This isn’t an app per se, but you can access this amazing Catholic catechetical/entertainment internet portal via an app on your mobile device or on TV via ROKU, AmazonFire TV and Apple TV. It is also available on your computer’s browser: MacOS, WindowsPC or ChromeOS.

FORMED is offering two brand new Lent series:

Daily Bread: Discover the Eucharist in Scripture

From developers: Based on Dr. Brant Pitre’s book Jesus and the Jewish Roots of the Eucharist, Daily Bread will radically transform your love for the Blessed Sacrament. After you sign up for the series, you’ll receive an email each day with a short video on the Eucharist. Here’s the promo video:

Throughout Lent and Easter, you’ll also receive 10 exciting new episodes of FORMED’s children’s art show.

Drawing Closer To God: A Catholic Art Show for Kids

From developers: 10 exciting new Lenten episodes of Drawing Closer to God: A Catholic Art Show for Kids! Through the beauty of art, host Ms. Kim helps kids follow Christ from the desert to his Passion and Resurrection—learning what it means to turn away from sin and back to God—as they draw and color each biblical scene. Download coloring pages here.

Special content bundled on the Lent theme includes a children’s favorite– Brother Francis cartoons–along with reflections, Hollywood movies and more.

Download the FORMED 2024 Interactive Lent Calendar to keep up with all their programing through the 40 days of Lent.

If you haven’t been introduced to Formed, you’re in for a whopping treat with on-demand faith formation resources like you’ve never seen before. Imagine having available on your smart phone, tablet, laptop or computer entire video education series produced by trusted and respected catechetical resource powerhouses such as Word on Fire, Symbolon, and Lighthouse Catholic Media. Topics cover adult faith formation, marriage, sacramental formation, Scripture, formation for teens and personal devotion. Check this out… You get more than 300 episodes of video education series including Bishop Robert Barron’s entire CATHOLICISM series (with parish subscription) But that’s not all.

The first two seasons of The Chosen television series about the life of Jesus is available to you FREE. You also get to watch full feature faith-based films; read Catholic eBooks from top Catholic publishers; listen to hours of lectures from your favorite Catholic speakers on a host of topics involving your Catholic faith.

The Augustine Institute partnered with Lighthouse Catholic Media, Ignatius Press, St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology, Word on Fire and Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception to bring you this wealth of resources on demand. The CATHOLICISM series alone costs $100 for the complete DVD set. But through FORMED, you get it (and everything else) for free if your parish subscribes. For $9.99/month  you may take out a personal subscription which includes everything the parish has access to minus the CATHOLICISM series and study guides. But before you take out a subscription, ask your parish if it already subscribes to FORMED. If it does, the parish will supply you with an access code to open up FORMED on line for free. Check your parish bulletin for access code too. FORMED formats well to all the many digital mobile platforms out there. New content is added periodically. Available in English with several programs available in Spanish. Internet access is needed as no content is downloaded to your device. ROKU and other streaming services offer the app among their selections.

Catholic Meditations for Lent

Catholic Meditations for Lent by St. Thomas Aquinas– Apple Lite version is free and offers meditations every other day. Full Version is $3.99 and offers each day’s meditation beginning on Septuagesima Sunday–three Sundays before Ash Wednesday–through Holy Saturday. If you are looking for daily in-depth, scholarly meditations from the great Doctor of the Church, St. Thomas Aquinas, this is your app. You will be impressed by the myriad of topics diving into Scripture passages each day right up through the passion, death and resurrection of Our Lord. Feast on his famous “points” to each meditation which draw you deeper into the theological perspectives the great saint shares. You will enjoy the ability to share meditations on social media, email or just copy into your notes. Cool 3-D touch shortcuts take you to the day’s mediations.

MP3 Cardinal Newman

MP3 Cardinal Newman (Free) Android | Apple

Here’s an opportunity to experience old school Lenten sermons by one of the most intelligent English Catholic saints in history. In 2019 Pope Francis canonized Saint John Henry Newman who already had an app devoted to his sermons! His Lenten sermons are part of the catalog of recorded sermons. Saint John Henry Newman was a Roman Catholic cardinal, scholar, and founder of the Oratory of St. Philip Neri in England. What better way to get to know this revered saint than by spending time listening to many hours of his talks on this app.Enjoy recording artists reading almost 200 talks from this great 19th century Catholic preacher and writer who speaks to you on themes surrounding Scripture, feast days and many subjects dealing with the human experience, Church teaching and spiritual growth. You’ll enjoy the pleasant English accent of many of the readers as you listen to inspiring, clear and beautifully-written sermons. Indeed, he is known as one of the 19th century’s greatest English prose writers. These sermons are among his greatest “plain” sermons. The first recording blessedly offers an introduction to this great saint’s life and works and the source of the text of these recordings. Download the app for free to enjoy a couple sample talks in each category listing. Upgrade to the full version ($8.99) to have unlimited access to the complete library of talks. Internet connection required to access audio files. Because they’re not downloaded, your hard drive space is saved. A red ribbon marks the last sermon you heard so you can easily find your place. The screenshot above displays the talks for Lent/Easter/Pentecost.

  

Stations of the Cross

Stations of the Cross is a devotion that invites us to literally walk with Jesus during his Passion and Death, stopping at key moments to meditate and pray. At each of the 14 blessed stations we reflect on the event that went on in that time and place. Special graces are attached to walking the Stations in a Catholic church. Yes, you may bring your mobile device with you to read the prayers and meditations as you walk the Stations on your own. While a church is the most efficacious setting to pray this devotion, praying these stations on your own outside of a church setting can still be of great spiritual aid for you, of course. These apps featured below help to enrich your prayer experience with beautiful imagery, meditations and even audio in some cases. 

Via Dolorosa ($2.99) Apple | Android If ever there was a blessing of an app, it is this one. Imagine walking in the footsteps of Jesus on his Way of the Cross in the designated locations as they appear today. This very journey that pilgrims take in the Holy Land is offered to you in a virtual setting supplied by this lovely app. Enjoy beautiful photographs of each station blended in a video format with serene background music as you listen to the description, reflection and prayer. The narration, delivered in a soothing voice, gently walks you through the scene as described by Scripture and tradition. You get a sense of what went on in those specific places you see before you.

Like an actual pilgrim in Jerusalem, you are supplied with an interactive map which denotes the actual place of each station on the Via Dolorosa. These stations were officially designated in the 19th century, but generally follow the route of pilgrims centuries earlier. While nine of the stations are based on Gospel accounts, the rest are based on tradition (Jesus’ three falls, his meeting with his Mother, and Veronica wiping his face).  If you can’t get to a Catholic church to walk the stations (complete with the graces that come with that effort), this is an inspirational substitute. Yes, these follow the designated stations in a Catholic church. The audio portion of the app alone is worth the price. Listen to this on your way to or from work, or while you’re out for a walk. It is a beautiful way to end your day before going to bed. Via Dolorosa App is developed by the World Evangelical Alliance, one of the world’s largest alliances of Christian churches. So while the descriptions and photos show you key art and architecture of each station (many of them in Catholic churches/chapels), you won’t see the Fourth Station’s magnificent Eucharistic Adoration chapel, for example.

 

FORMED (featured app above) offers video of the traditional Stations of the Cross by St. Alphonsus Liguori as well as a children’s version in a Brother Francis cartoon.

Catholic Prayers ($2.99) This is a universal app for all mobile device formats. Follow the link, locate the app information and click the “Buy Now” button. Beauty is the hallmark of the effort the developers at St. Clement ePress put into all of their first-rate apps which–by far–exceed quality, beauty and ease of use of most apps in their categories. This collection of traditional Catholic prayers and devotions is an exceptional aid to help you “work out your salvation,” developers state. This primary focus fuels the seriousness of the task at hand, and it is clearly the motivation behind an app designed with elegance.

Exquisite art, tasteful fonts, subtle colorations and textual embellishments combine to reflect the dignity of the human soul attempting to encounter God. Among the many prayer resources offered in this app, the gorgeous Stations of the Cross alone is worth the price. The app’s Way of the Cross includes the traditional prayers by St. Alphonse’s Liguori along with scriptural meditations. High resolution images of the stations help you to pray this devotion if you are unable to physically be in a church.

Developers say this app evolved over time, beginning as a collection of Catholic artwork and inspirational Catholic prayers/ devotions gathered from old missals, prayer cards etc. Today, the app’s rich catalog of prayers (in English and Latin) includes: Devotions like Stations of the Cross, Divine Mercy and novenas; more than 100 traditional Catholic prayers; indexes to feast days prayers and saints; and helpful information concerning indulgences, guidelines for reception of Holy Communion, fasting, Church doctors and the six Precepts of the Church.

iStations ($1.49) Android  Traditional images of stations and the popular St. Alphonsus Liguori devotional text. For most people, that’s all they ask for. But you get more–There is an audio version imbedded. In that case, bring your ear buds if you’re in church.  If you are not in church, the app helps to simulate the experience by providing beautiful traditional art depicting the stations for you to use in your private prayer. Two traditional methods, including a Franciscan method. Also, text of traditional prayers in English and Latin.

Via Crucis: Catholic Meditations on the Way of theCross by St. Francis of Assisi ($2.99) Apple Why shell out three bucks for this app? Because you don’t often find one based on “Meditations on the Way of the Cross” by St. Francis of Assisi.

In addition, the classic artwork offered is just gorgeous on your device. This art includes timeless masterworks in painting and stained glass. Touch the picture and it opens to a larger format via 3-D touch which you can pinch/zoom to fill the screen.St. Francis’ meditations bring us into Christ’s sufferings, challenging us to consider our part in each station. They are brief and to the point. This type of app is fine to use while you’re in church walking the Stations on your own or outside of church using the beautiful artwork to aid your meditation. We appreciate the option to change the font size for easier reading. Offered in 4 languages: English, Italian, French, and Portuguese.

Audio Non-Traditional Stations of the Crossvia Pray as You Go app (Free) Apple | Android Enjoy fully-produced audio reflections with lovely prayers and music appropriate for the reflection to enhance your experience of praying Stations, but please understand they are not the traditional Stations of the Catholic Church. The value of this devotion lies in the richness of meditations that include subjects like the Good Thief and Peter’s denial mixed in with some traditional stations as you take an imaginary walk through the Passion and Death of Christ. You may find this journey enriches the traditional Stations when you pray those. If nothing else, it will get you to sloooow down and calm your mind as you ease into reflection on sublime topics. I find the beautiful music draws me into the meditation in unexpected ways. On that note, the first station is sure to get you hooked. Separate audio files for each station do not need to be downloaded to play, but that option is available if you want to take this on your walk. Web link for direct access to this devotion without the app here.  

All Catholic Music All the Time!

Lent is a great time to explore new ways of focusing our attention on spiritual matters. One way to do that is to change the music we listen to. “Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you…with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.” (Colossians 3:16) So, this year, we’re calling out two important apps to help you do just that.

iCatholic Music (Free) Apple | Android  The #1 Catholic Radio App in the world, iCatholic Radio, offers this separate app dedicated to streaming contemporary music by top Catholic artists on weekdays and Saturdays. Sunday mornings switch to several hours of sacred Gregorian chant, offering perfect background music as you prepare for Mass. With this app you not only get spiritually-enriching Catholic music 24/7 (no matter where you are in the world, and no matter what time you’re listening), but you get valuable on-demand features:

  • audio Rosary
  • audio Chaplet of Divine Mercy
  • Podcasts — talks by noted Catholic authors and priests on a variety of topics.
  • the ability to record a testimonial on how Catholic music has impacted your life
  • quick links to iCM’s social media posts
  

Great Catholic Music (Free) Apple | GooglePlay Living Bread Radio offers a stand-alone app to fill the need for those just looking for well, great Catholic music. Their selection includes hymns that you’d hear in church as well as Catholic contemporary music. This is a basic click and play app. They don’t offer any other resources–just their commercial-free music.

 

 

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